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Ad Spending Forecast Revised Downward

GroupM Predicts Growth Of 3.4% In 2013

GroupM has revised its predictions for ad spending globally and in the U.S. downward.

The company, parent to large media agencies including MEC and Mindshare, said Wednesday that it expects ad spending in measured media across 75 countries to grow 3.4% to $507 billion in 2013. It had predicted growth of 4.5% in a forecast in December.

The new figure would represent a slight slowdown from last year, when global ad spending in measured media grew 3.6% to $490 billion, according to GroupM.

The downward revision is mostly due to continued economic troubles in the Eurozone, specifically Italy, Spain, Greece and Ireland. "Stabilization is elusive," GroupM Futures Director Adam Smith said in a statement. "We now expect this group to record an 11% fall in measured advertising in 2013."

In the U.S., ad dollars flowing to measured media will grow just 1.8% this year to a total of $156 billion, according to the new report. GroupM previously said it expected measured ad spending in the U.S. to increase 2.7%.

The company's first forecasts for 2014 were somewhat brighter, with a 2.9% hike predicted in the U.S. next year and a 5.1% jump worldwide, thanks in part to the Winter Olympics.

Ad spending in China remains strong, with 40% of new global spending flowing toward the country, GroupM said in the report, which draws from data from its parent company, WPP.

Global ad spending in digital media, which is expected to reach $95 billion this year, will increase 14% next year and comprise 20% share of ad budgets, the report predicted, up from 19% of spending this year.